Jiang Nan Fang stopped where no one could see, turned her head, and looked intently at the dark, burly man she called Big Brother.
Big Brother hesitated, then awkwardly scratched his head.
It was one thing for them, rough men of the mountains and wilds, to deal with people who resisted fiercely, but they were at a loss when facing shy women.
"You..."
Jiang Nan Fang extended her fair, soft hand to him: "Come here, why are you standing so far away?"
"..."
She went to him herself and pulled him: "I'm not going to eat you, come on!"
Her hand was so soft, so smooth to the touch, Big Brother became even more flustered.
Jiang Nan Fang held both of his hands and swung them playfully in the air like a child.
"Am I pretty?"
"..."
"Are you married? Do you have a wife? Who's prettier, you or your wife?"
"..."
"If I don't mind that you're married, and insist on being with you, would you want me?"
"..."
"Say something, if you don't say anything, I'll take it that you do."
She smiled sweetly, slowly moved closer to Big Brother, released his hands, and gently wrapped her arms around his waist.
"You're so tall, so manly, so much better than your brother."
The keys were taken off.
She continued her sweet talk: "How many children do you want? Do you prefer boys or girls? I'll have several more for you, okay?"
The keys were quietly slipped into her pocket by her.
Big Brother was still dazed. With the keys in her hand, she suddenly changed her tune.
Leveraging their close proximity, she bent one leg and rammed it hard into his lower abdomen.
While he was in pain, she grabbed his left arm, twisted it, and with a "bang," executed a shoulder throw, slamming him onto the ground.
With a turn, her knee pressed against the carotid artery on Big Brother's neck.
Big Brother hadn't expected to be ambushed by her. They had been in a sweet moment, and suddenly it turned like this, his face flushing with anger.
"You!"
Without further ado, Jiang Nan Fang grabbed a stone from the ground, raised it, and aimed it at his forehead. With two solid blows, he ceased to move.
Not daring to waste a second, while he was still incapacitated, she clutched the keys in her pocket and ran towards the woods behind.
Who would have thought that upon hearing Big Brother had gone after her alone, his wife would follow.
Jiang Nan Fang had only run a few steps when she heard shrieks coming from behind her.
Soon, all the young and old from the village came out with weapons in hand, chasing after her.
The sound of the wind, footsteps, and rustling leaves mixed with the thumping of her heart.
Her steps were faltering, and those behind were chasing like wolves. Although she could see the pickup truck, she wasn't sure she could outrun them.
Being caught meant certain death, and she was so nervous, so incredibly nervous.
Suddenly, as she ran, she found herself at a dead end.
In her haste, she had run up a hillside.
The pickup truck was parked on the road below the slope. To get down, she had no choice but to jump.
The slope wasn't very high; she wasn't afraid of jumping down, but she was afraid of the crowd of people waiting below.
With wolves in front and tigers behind, she feared she would perish here today.
"Jiang Nan Fang!"
Her fifth brother, his eyes splitting with rage, dragging a hoe, had caught up. She was hesitating whether to end herself or jump down and fight them all.
Suddenly, a familiar male voice reached her ears.
Jiang Nan Fang looked down in the direction of the sound. Behind the pickup truck, at the entrance of the village, three cars were driving in, kicking up dust.
Zhan Bei Jue's upper body was leaning out of the lead car's window, waving excitedly at her.
"Don't panic! Don't jump! I'm here, don't be afraid! Wait for me to come find you!"
"Engineer Jiang! Engineer Jiang! Don't be afraid! We're all here! We've come to save you! Don't jump!"
From the car behind, Engineer Zhang also excitedly leaned out.
Jiang Nan Fang had never felt Zhan Bei Jue looked so imposing.
Even though he was in a beat-up commercial van, his hair was covered in yellow dust and blown into a mess.
But he looked even more commanding than when he was surrounded by luxury cars.
She suddenly felt emboldened, resolute in her refusal to let those villains touch her again.
She threw the car keys, and with a "bang," jumped down.
The onlookers below instinctively took two steps back. Jiang Nan Fang landed in an open space, twisting her ankle.
She wasn't afraid of the pain; she stood up fearlessly, ready to move towards Zhan Bei Jue and his group.
But the onlookers suddenly closed in again.
The car screeched to a halt. Zhan Bei Jue jumped out and roughly pushed the crowd aside, urging them to make way.
"Get away! Stay away from her! All of you, move aside!"
They worked together to surround Jiang Nan Fang, shoving Zhan Bei Jue and chattering at him, trying to reason with him.
Zhan Bei Jue didn't understand, nor did he want to listen.
Anyone who dared to resist was directly knocked down: "You want to die! All of you, get out of the way! Make way!"
With his brute force clearing the way, a path was soon created through the crowd.
He grabbed Jiang Nan Fang and pulled her into his arms.
"Don't be afraid. I'm sorry I'm late. Are you alright? I'm sorry."
Jiang Nan Fang leaned against his chest, clearly hearing his rapid heartbeat.
It was even more frantic than hers. Who exactly was being kidnapped?
Those who had been knocked down quickly got back up, and everyone from the hillside jumped down regardless.
They all shouted in anger, seeming to want to tear Zhan Bei Jue to shreds.
Engineer Zhang and his men also rushed forward. The two sides confronted each other, the atmosphere charged. Without a word, they began to fight fiercely.
A worker had been injured just yesterday, and another incident today would cause significant trouble.
Jiang Nan Fang grabbed Zhan Bei Jue: "Quick, report it to the base! I didn't have my phone when I came out, otherwise, I would have caught them already. We can't fight, report it quickly!"
Zhan Bei Jue ignored the plea, and under the cover of the chaos, pulled her out of the crowd. They stood to the side.
"Is your foot okay? You jumped from that height. Did you twist it?"
"..."
"Squat down, let me see. Where are your shoes?"
In her haste and panic, she hadn't even realized when she lost a shoe.
But she had no time to worry about shoes now!
Over there, it was almost a complete mess.
"Oh, don't worry about me, find someone to help!"
"Stop fighting! Be careful, Xiao Ding! Everyone, stop fighting, Engineer Zhang, let's leave quickly!"
"Bang!"
She was anxious, fearing that if the fighting escalated, it would become uncontrollable. Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from the sky.
The unusual sound startled everyone.
They all instinctively stopped fighting and looked in the direction of the sound.
One by one, white vehicles, flashing with flashing lights, drove in.
Big Brother had fallen, and Second Brother was taking charge.
Seeing the vehicles arrive, he thought they were their people and quickly went to meet them, carrying his weapon.
"Uncle-in-law! You're finally here, Uncle-in-law! Someone bullied us and beat Big Brother. You're finally here, Uncle-in-law!"
However, as Uncle-in-law emerged from the car, he paid no attention to him, instead respectfully standing aside.
Following him, a man in a sharp suit and glasses emerged from the back seat of the car.
He wore a crisp uniform, stood ramrod straight, and had a stern expression.
But upon seeing Zhan Bei Jue, he immediately hurried to meet him.
"My apologies, President Zhan. I was unaware of your distinguished presence; it is an oversight on my part not to have greeted you sooner."